Batik Air is a full-service carrier based in Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta Airport. The airline is the Lion Air Group’s premium arm, with planes featuring two-class cabins and complimentary refreshments and entertainment. Batik Air chiefly operates a domestic flight network, with select international services to Singapore, Malaysia, India, Australia, and China. Further destinations in Japan, the Maldives, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam are reached by its Malaysian arm, Batik Air Malaysia (previously Malindo Air).

Batik Air Indonesia operates just two Business Class lounges. Both are located in the two airports serving Jakarta – Halim Perdanakusuma International (HLP) and Soekarno-Hatta International (CGK). Despite that, note that lounge access is not a published benefit in airports without a Batik Air lounge.

Lounge Access Rules

As far as I am aware, only Business Class passengers flying Batik Air are entitled to enter this lounge. Batik Air’s barebones frequent-flyer scheme, Batik Miles, makes no note of any lounge benefit regardless of elite status (nor a miles-collecting scheme for that matter!). Additionally, there does not appear to be an arrangement for entry with any credit cards either, so this lounge can be considered quite ‘exclusive’ in the loosest sense.

Location

The Batik Air Business Lounge is located before security in Terminal 2E (Concourse E). Curiously, most Batik Air flights depart Terminal 2D, so do leave enough time to head to your gate. Similarly, most Batik Air check-in counters are also in Terminal 2D, making it quite a trek to get to the lounge. After check-in, walk towards the right-hand side and follow the signs to the central departures area, equivalent to Concourse E.

From there, follow the signs to the F Gates, where you’ll find yourself walking down a long arcade running perpendicular between Concourses E and F. The Batik Air Business Class Lounge is located towards the end of this arcade, across from an A&W restaurant. It shouldn’t be easy to miss, given the large Batik Air signage.

Batik Air Lounge

At the entrance, I handed my Batik Air Business Class boarding pass to the disinterested-looking receptionist. After a quick glance at the ‘PRIORITY’ printed on it, she waved me in. There were several unattended trolleys next to the reception desk, which is decorated with plastic flowers and a neat airliner model. Whilst the lounge generally looked messy and uninspiring, I did appreciate the cool stone carving behind the reception desk.

The foyer opens into the lounge to its fullest extent; the space consists of a single L-shaped space featuring all of the lounge’s available seating. Immediately past the foyer is a small food spread, behind which are the restrooms (both I will be covering later). Additionally, every now and then, an agent would come by to manually announce the commencement of boarding for flights. This is necessary since the lounge doesn’t have any loudspeakers installed nor does it have any televisions that show the terminal’s flight statuses.

Lounge Seating

There has virtually been no change to the lounge since my last visit in 2020. Much of the lounge consists of leather seats arranged very close to each other. Whilst the space looked mostly non-descript, the seat cushion covers instilled an unfortunate and outdated look to the place. Whilst the furniture has quite a bit of wear and tear, the seats were at least comfortable – a nice change from the hard plastic chairs in the public area.

First Seating Area

The first seating area is located past the foyer and the food buffet, consisting of four rows of sofa chairs facing each other. Only a few chairs are divided by a console table, which proved to be slightly more ideal for eating (since there aren’t any dining tables). Towards one corner is the lounge’s sole VIP room, which I will talk about later.

Main Seating Area

Behind the first seating area is the main seating area that covers the rest of the lounge in its entirety. Whilst the middle column of seats is very tightly packed to each other, the seats by the wall and the window are quite ideal for those travelling in pairs.

Observations

Frankly, the seating arrangement is very uncreative as far as lounge seating goes. I more so didn’t appreciate the fact that the chairs are placed too close to each other. This is definitely done to maximise the number of seats in the limited space offered by the lounge. Whilst the lounge was virtually empty during my visit, I couldn’t imagine how uncomfortable it would be should the place be packed.

Whilst there is undoubtedly an abundance of seats, the lounge itself is small compared to the size of the airline. To make things less appealing, the lighting of the lounge truly gave a cold and sterile look that felt rather uninviting. Whilst the walls are decorated with traditional batik cloth (true to the airline’s name), they sadly did little to bring a splash of warmth into the space.

Power outlets

Whilst power outlets are available, they are only equipped on certain console tables in the lounge. I counted there to be at least eight outlets in the entirety of the lounge, which may prove to be difficult should the lounge be in full capacity.

VIP Room

Located towards one corner of the lounge is a small VIP Room. Since its door was not locked, I was able to take a quick peek into the room. It isn’t clear to whom this space is dedicated, although in fairness, the space isn’t anything special.

The window-lit space features a set of four leather sofas arranged facing each other. Separating them in the middle is a coffee table with bottles of water. The room is completed by a dedicated television screen on the wall, complemented by a couple more indigenous batik displays.

Hilariously, there are also two frames on the door-side wall which appear to display the placeholder art that came with the frames. I truly wonder how long this has been up there, and whether anybody ever questioned it.

Dining

In terms of refreshments, the lounge has a limited food spread located near the entrance. The buffet featured a handful of dishes and snacks, mostly catering to Indonesian tastes. Curiously, most crockery provided is identical to those that can be found in flight.

Food options

During my early morning visit, there were four hot dishes available with the spread – Nasi Lemak (coconut steamed rice), Rendang Ayam (chicken rendang), Kentang Balado (Padang-style spiced potatoes), and Bubur Ketan Hitam (black glutinous rice porridge). There were also some raw onions and red cabbage served with thousand island sauce, and a selection of ‘cheese salty fried bread’ and ‘garlic bread’.

The available lighter options included a few breads and local crackers. There is also a choice of two sweet options – Bread and Butter Pudding and Bolu Kukus (steamed bread). To be frank, most of these choices didn’t look very appealing as is the case in most Indonesian lounges.

Beverage options

Located across the main food spread is also a coffee and tea station, alongside a chiller filled with bottles of water and a freezer with strawberry ice cream. I sampled the ice cream, which tasted artificial and distinctively not creamy.

Batik Air Lounge Food

Knowing beforehand that my flight will only be catered with a light snack service, I decided to try the food on offer. Despite the unpromising look of the seemingly dry chicken and rice dishes, they ended up tasting fine. Whilst they aren’t restaurant quality, the rice and chicken were akin to something you’d get in an aeroplane meal. The ice cream on the other hand… I wouldn’t recommend for reasons I’ve stated earlier.

Continuing the trend of odd decor in the lounge, there is a promotional artwork featuring the Airbus A350 XWB on the wall near the food spread. This is really a curious addition since neither Batik Air nor the Lion Air Group operates any Airbus A350s. Interesting.

Toilet

The lounge has a small gender-segregated washroom area located past the food buffet. I found the men’s washroom to be well-maintained and well-lit although it didn’t feel spotlessly clean. Expectedly, the lounge does not have a shower offering, which makes sense given the lack of any long-haul routes operated by the airline.

Overall

All in all, the Batik Air Business Class Lounge at Soekarno Hatta Airport is a waiting room that does its job. Whilst there isn’t much to be spoken about the lounge, the space fulfills the criteria of one. For one, I appreciated that it features relatively comfortable seating and complimentary refreshments, though this is pretty barebones as far as South East Asian lounges go. To close, whilst not particularly great, it is at least nice enough that the airline offers a space to its highest-paying passengers.

Read more about travel in Indonesia